Shakira is preparing to open a 12-date residency in Madrid, her first shows in Spain since 2018, and around 50 contestants from the Benidorm Fest song competition will walk her onto the main stage as part of the celebration. Among them is Atyat, who competed in this year's edition of the contest with her song "Dopamina" and has been a devoted fan of Shakira since childhood.
The singer has named her Madrid shows "ES Latina," and the residency marks the closing stretch of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour. At every stop on the tour Shakira has walked to the stage accompanied by a group of guests, and for the Madrid dates that role has gone to roughly 50 Benidorm Fest participants, who will accompany her to the main stage at Macondo Park. The Es Latina bill also features other acts, ranging from Amaia to Nathy Peluso.
Atyat's Instagram announcement
Atyat shared a video on Instagram describing what the moment meant to her. She said she would accompany Shakira to the stage at the first concert of the European residency in Madrid, and struggled to put the feeling into words, saying her inner child was crying and screaming at once with mixed emotions.
She said Shakira has been a huge inspiration to her since she was a child, that she knows all of her songs by heart, and that years ago she received a piece of advice from her that changed her life. She said walking with her at the first concert of the European residency left her speechless, recalling that she once appeared alongside her on Spanish public broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE), and that a beautiful circle was now closing. The date, she said, is September 18, when she will walk out with "the wolf," a nickname often used for Shakira by her fans.
Advice from more than a decade ago
Atyat said the advice was given during the filming of the RTVE programme "Asuntos Propios" more than ten years ago, and that it helped guide her along the path that eventually led her to compete in this year's Benidorm Fest. Benidorm Fest is the Spanish television song contest, organised by public broadcaster RTVE, that has served since 2022 as part of the process for selecting Spain's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Speaking to CADENA100.es a few days before walking alongside Shakira, Atyat said she is one of her great references, not only for her musical career but for everything she represents to her personally.
Shared roots and childhood dance moves
Atyat said she has always felt a special connection to Shakira because, like her, Shakira has Arab roots through her father's side of the family. She said that from a very young age she began dancing, and that the movements she used turned out, years later, to be part of Shakira's own style.
She said that when she first met Shakira, she felt that many things about her were already part of who she was without realising it. She said she admires her enormously as an artist for her ability to reinvent herself, for the way she fuses cultures and styles, and for building an international career without abandoning her roots. Atyat, who works as a teacher, also said she deeply admires Shakira's involvement in education and the importance she has always placed on giving children opportunities.
The advice that shaped her career
Atyat recalled the day she met Shakira face to face on RTVE, telling her that her dream was to work in music and asking for advice. She said Shakira told her she had to work tirelessly, push herself and never stop working towards her dream, and that she did exactly that.
Years later, this year, Atyat made it into Benidorm Fest, also broadcast on TVE, which she described as one of the most important dreams of her career being fulfilled. She said that on September 18, a circle she had never imagined closing would finally close, as she gets the chance to walk alongside Shakira toward the stage at the first concert of her European residency.
Atyat said the moment is not simply about walking next to an artist she admires. She said it is about walking alongside someone who, without knowing it, gave her advice she kept for years and that pushed her to keep working towards her dream, describing it as a moment that represents the whole journey from the child who dreamed of a career in music to the artist she is today.
